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What are the most effective psychological treatments for emotional eating disorder?

Most experts agree that the most effective psychological treatment for emotional eating disorder is some form of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This type of therapy helps patients to identify and change the negative thoughts and behaviors that are associated with emotional eating. CBT has been shown to be particularly effective in helping patients to control their eating in the long-term. Other types of therapy, such as interpersonal therapy, may also be helpful for some patients..Original Article

What are the causes of emotional eating disorder?

If you’re struggling with emotional eating, know that you’re not alone. Emotional eating is a real phenomenon, and it can be tough to overcome. But the good news is that it is possible to heal your relationship with food and your body.

What is emotional eating?

Emotional eating is using food to soothe, comfort, or distract from difficult emotions. It’s not about being physically hungry—it’s about using food to cope with feelings.

Emotional eating is different from binge eating disorder, which is characterized by compulsion and loss of control over eating. With emotional eating, there may or may not be a sense of loss of control, but the key difference is that it’s driven by emotions, not physical hunger.

People often turn to food when they’re feeling:

sad

angry

stressed

anxious

bored

Numbing difficult emotions with food may provide temporary relief, but it doesn’t address the root cause of the problem. In fact, it can make things worse.

Emotional eating can lead to:

weight gain

Feelings of shame and guilt

Increased stress

An unhealthy relationship with food

But it’s not just the physical consequences that are a problem. Emotional eating can also take a toll on your mental health.

The cycle of emotional eating

Emotional eating often happens in a cycle. First, you experience a trigger—a stressful event or an uncomfortable emotion. This can be something like a bad day at work, a fight with a friend, or feeling overwhelmed.

In response to the trigger, you turn to food for comfort. This might look like bingeing on your favorite junk food, eating even when you’re not hungry, or grazing all day long.

After eating, you likely feel worse. You might feel guilty, ashamed, or out of control. This can perpetuate the cycle, as you’re likely to turn to food again the next time you’re feeling triggered.

What causes emotional eating?

There are a variety of factors that can contribute to emotional eating.

External factors

Certain external factors can make emotional eating more likely. These include:

Diet culture: Diet culture is the current cultural norm that equates thinness with health and success, and shames people who don’t meet unrealistic standards. Diet culture puts a lot of pressure on people to be thin, and can contribute to disordered eating.

The media: The media portrayal of thin, “perfect” bodies can lead to feelings of inadequacy, which can trigger emotional eating.

Societal expectations: There is a lot of pressure on women, in particular, to conform to a certain body type. This can lead to feelings of frustration and insecurity, which can be soothed by emotional eating.

Internal factors

There are also internal factors that can contribute to emotional eating. These include:

Unhealthy coping mechanisms: If you’ve never learned healthy ways to cope with difficult emotions, you may turn to food instead.

Low self-esteem: If you don’t have a lot of self-confidence, you may be more likely to emotionally eat.

Stress: Chronic stress can lead to emotional eating. When you’re constantly in fight-or-flight mode, it’s tough to make good decisions about food.

Dysfunctional relationships: If you have a difficult relationship with food, your body, or yourself, you may be more likely to emotionally eat.

How to overcome emotional eating

If you’re struggling with emotional eating, there is hope. There are a number of things you can do to heal your relationship with food and your body.

1. Identify your triggers

The first step is to become aware of your triggers. When do you tend to emotionally eat? What emotions or situations lead you to seek out food?

Identifying your triggers can help you be more mindful of your eating habits and make better choices.

2. Learn healthy coping mechanisms

If you tend to emotionally eat, it’s likely that you don’t have healthy coping mechanisms for dealing with difficult emotions. Otherwise, you wouldn’t need to turn to food.

Learning healthy coping mechanisms is an important part of overcoming emotional eating. Some healthy coping strategies include:

Talk to a friend or family member

Write in a journal

Go for a walk

Practice meditation or deep breathing

3. Challenge negative thoughts

If you have low self-esteem or are hard on yourself, it can be difficult to break the cycle of emotional eating. Challenging negative thoughts is an important step in overcoming emotional eating.

Some tips for challenging negative thoughts include:

Identify your thoughts: What are you telling yourself about your body or your eating habits?

Challenge your thoughts: Are your thoughts accurate? Do they reflect reality?

Replace your thoughts: Once you’ve challenged your negative thoughts, replace them with more realistic, positive thoughts.

4. Seek professional help

If you’re struggling to overcome emotional eating on your own, it may be time to seek professional help. A therapist can help you understand your relationship with food and your body, and give you tools to heal.

5. Practice self-compassion

If you’re struggling with emotional eating, it’s likely that you’re hard on yourself. But it’s important to remember that you’re not alone and that you deserve compassion.

Practicing self-compassion can help you overcome emotional eating. Some ways to practice self-compassion include:

Being kind to yourself: Talk to yourself the way you would talk to a friend.

Recognizing your humanity: Remember that everyone makes mistakes and that you’re not perfect.

Giving yourself grace: Don’t be too hard on yourself. Extend yourself some grace and understanding.

Emotional eating is a real phenomenon, but it’s also something that you can overcome. With awareness, effort, and self-compassion, you can heal your relationship with food and your body.

We used mengeredstoo.co.uk to write this article about emotional eating disorder. Original source.